The Nine Lives of Christmas

8/4/2019 The Nine Lives of Christmas

1/13


2/13

This is a work of ction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this

novel are either products of the authors imagination or are used ctitiously.

. Copyright 2011 by Sheila Rabe. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martins Press,

175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roberts, Sheila.

The nine lives of Christmas / Sheila Roberts.st ed. p. cm.

ISBN ---- (alk. paper)

. CatsFiction. . Fire ghtersFiction. . Man-woman relationships

Fiction. . Christmas stories. I. Title.

PS.ON

'.dc

First Edition: November 2011

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


3/13

ONE

When a guy is in trouble he starts making deals with his Creator,

and Ambrose was dealing like crazy. Vicious teeth snapped at him,

and his whole life (actually, all nine of them) ashed before his eyes. Ifthis dog got him it was all over.

Becoming dog food looked like a distinct possibility, as the tree

Ambrose had chosen was small and the particular branch he was

perched on was a imsy twig barely capable of holding a kitten, let

alone a mature cat. And the big, black beast below seemed to have

springs on his paws.

Ill do anything,Ambrose yowled. Anything! Please, let me live a

little longer.

This was life number nine. He knew he wouldnt get any more

but hed settle for a longer one in which he could nish his days in

comfort. Under the circumstances, it would be a miracle if he sur-

vived to see that happen. But hed seen people stringing up colored

lights on their houses just the other day, which meant Christmasseason was about to begin, and wasnt Christmas supposed to be


4/13

2 Sheila Roberts

the season of miracles? Not that Christmas had ever been good toAmbrose. That was when he usually managed to meet his end.

So he wasnt surprised at what was happening to him now. That

didnt mean he had to like it, though. What a horrible way to go!

Pulled from a tree and brutally murdered by a bloodthirsty mon-

grel. All these houses and there was not a single human around to

help him on this cold, gray morning. No surprise, really. Humans

bought houses and then rarely stayed in them . . . until they got

old, and by then, like Ambrose, their days were numbered.

Below him the dog showed his fangs again and growled.Needing

a miracle here. Soon!

Not that he deserved one. He thought of little Robbie, who hed

scratched many a time in his seventh life, and poor Snoopy the bea-

gle, who he had tortured in his eighth life. He shouldnt have madethe dogs life so miserable but hed been getting bitter by then.

How he had enjoyed driving old Snoopy crazy by jumping on him

and riding him around the house with his claws dug into the dogs

back. Hee-hee. That had been . . .

Bad, very bad. He would never do anything like that again.

Why oh why hadnt he picked a tall, sturdy tree to climb instead

of this immature maple? What had he been thinking? The answer

to that was easy enough. Hed been thinking,Run!

It started to rainfat, freezing pellets that dug under his fur,

and an angry winter wind pushed the tree, making its branches

sway.Noooo. Ambrose dug his claws deeper into the bark. Ill be a

good cat and earn my keep here on Earth. Just send me some help and Ill

prove it.Now the dog was up on his hind legs, pushing against the tree


5/13

THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS 3

and reaching for Ambrose like he was some kind of doggy chewtoy. Determined not to go down without a ght, Ambrose hissed at

him and took a swipe with claws unsheathed. That only made the

beast more berserk.

Where was a dogcatcher when you needed one? Help! Is anybody

listening?

Out of nowhere, appearing as suddenly as the rain had come,

Ambrose saw a man wearing what humans called jogging clothes.

He ran up to the dog and yelled, Go on, get out of here.

Between the mans aggressive clap and that big, canine-like

growl of his, he not only scared away the dog, he almost gave

Ambrose a heart attack.

The beast loped off down the street and the man said, Okay, guy,

looks like youre safe.Safe, the best word in the world. Ambrose peered down at his

rescuer. The fur on top of the mans head was what humans called

blondnot as handsome as Ambroses orange coat, but a shade that

humans admired greatly, and his eyes were as blue as a Siamese kit-

tens. He was large, which meant he probably had a spacious, comfy

lap. The friendly smile he wore showed the man was a kind person.

Something about that face looked familiar. Where had he seen this

man before?

Youre on your own now, he said to Ambrose, who was still cling-

ing to his branch. I know you can get down anyway. You arent going

to want to stay out in this weather any longer than me, he added, and

then jogged off down the street.

Ambrose could hardly believe he was safe. Wet, uncomfortable,and hungry, but safe. The freezing rain was letting up now and the


6/13

4 Sheila Roberts

angry clouds began to drift away, ashamed of all the misery theydcaused. It was going to be a good day after all. He settled down to

give his racing heart a chance to calm.

One last gust of wind wooshed past him with a whisper:Remem-

ber what you promised.

Of course Ambrose remembered. And he would be a better cat.

When the opportunity presented itself. There was no hurry, really.

He made his way down the tree and was halfway across the lawn

when he caught sight of the same dog loitering on the corner. The

dog saw him, too.

Yikes! Time to scat.Ambrose darted into the street.

A screech of brakes, a spray of water, and an angry honk of a

horn made his lives ash before his eyes once again as Ambrose

barely dodged the huge metal monster. Once more the wind whis-pered. This time it said:Last chance.

Okay, okay, he got it. The time to atone for his wicked past was

now. But how, exactly, was he supposed to do that? Where to start,

and with whom? The storm had pretty much scrubbed the street of

living creatures. Except for the murderous dog and that big man.

Helping the dog with anything was out of the question. That

left the man, which made sense. A life for a life.

He set off at a run. His rescuer had a head start but Ambrose had

four legs, which evened things considerably. He caught up with the

man in time to see him enter a house on a quiet street. It was a large

house, much the same as Ambroses old home, freshly painted and

blue as a robins egg, and it had a chimney. That meant a warm re

on a cold day. Not a bad place to land.It took patient camping under the bushes by the porch but nally


7/13


Ambrose was rewarded and the door opened to reveal the same man,this time wearing different clothes. He stepped out of the door and

Ambrose rushed in. Oh, delicious warmth.

Whoa, said the man, whats this?

What? He couldnt tell? Ambrose refused to dignify such a silly

question with a response. Instead he began to prowl the front hall

of his new home. Interesting. Wood oors, a stairway on one side,

and off to the other an arch opening onto what humans referred to

as a living room. The house felt old and it hummed with memories,

like the one his last owner, Adelaide, had lived in. That had been

such a cozy home. Her horrible offspring hadnt cared about the

memories, though. All theyd cared about was putting the place up

for sale.

Put it up for sale, indeed! Just where had they thought Ambrosewould live if they sold the house? Of course, hed soon found out

and that was why hed run away.

Whoa there, Tom, said the man, scooping Ambrose off his feet.

Tom? What an insult! Did he look like a common cat? His name

had never been Tom. Never! He was Cupcake-Tiger-Morris-Mufn-

Macavity-Blackie-Toby-Claus-AmbroseAmbrose, of course, being

his latest moniker.

This isnt a hotel for cats, the man informed Ambrose as he

opened the door. He stepped back outside and shut the door behind

him, then plopped Ambrose on the porch. Back out in the cold. Of

all the nerve!

Ambrose watched, tail twitching as the man strode down his

front walk, got in a shiny, black car, and drove away. If this inhospitablehuman is the key to keeping my ninth life I am in the doghouse.


8/13

6 Sheila Roberts

He could almost hear Adelaide saying, Be patient, Ambrosedear. (Something she always told him when he was half starving and

rubbing against her legs while she poked around opening his cat

food can.) Good advice now, though. He could be patient.

The man would be back. Humans went away to work, whatever

that was, but they eventually returned, and when this one did he and

Ambrose would settle this misunderstanding. Ambrose crawled back

under the bushes and settled in to wait.

Zachary Stone returned home from working his forty-eight-hour

shift with his eyes feeling gritty and his head muzzy. People thought

reghters just sat around and watched TV or slept when they

werent putting out res or helping with medical emergencies, butthey were always busy at the station. This shift had proved to be no

exception. On Wednesday, Zach, Ray, and Julio had spent the day

cleaning equipment and swapping out batteries on two-way radios

and heart monitors. Theyd gone out on two emergency calls during

the wee hours of the night and then Zach had to be bright eyed and

bushy tailed for a school visit the next morning. When hed re-

turned to the station hed had to clean the kitchen. The oven was a

disaster thanks to Stevens, who couldnt cook anything without

making a mess and who never seemed to be on the schedule when

kitchen day rolled around.

But Zach had preferred stove patrol to the call that involved

an old lady who had managed to fall out of her recliner. He frowned

at the memory of his new nickname: Little Old Lady Killer. Itwould be a couple of weeks before he didnt have to endure a million


9/13


jabs from the paramedics about how the old woman had kept pattinghis arm and offering to make him cookies after hed gotten her back

into her chair (no small feat since the little old lady had weighed

almost as much as Zach). On top of those adventures he had done

his mandatory daily workouts, three home safety visits, and the crew

had been called out to help with a bad accident on the highway at

one .. That one had almost been enough to make him question

why he did what he did for a living.

The answer was simple, really. He liked helping people. Doing

what he did gave him a feeling of purpose. He also appreciated

having so much time off during the rest of the week. It allowed

him to work on big projects like ipping this old Victorian.

Oh, you should keep it, his mother had said when she and his

stepsisters stopped by uninvited to check it out shortly after hebought it. (Yet another attempt to insert herself into his life.) I can

already see it with a Christmas tree in the bay window.

And a wife and kids running around. She hadnt said that, but

Zach knew shed thought it. Its not me, hed said.

It could be, shed said right back.

That was when hed looked at his watch and announced, Id bet-

ter get going. Ive got an appointment to look at ooring.

Mom had eyed him suspiciously. Since when do you need an

appointment to look at ooring?

Special order, hed improvised, and escaped to the safety of the

hardware store.

Mom wanted grandkids, who knew why. Maybe she thought she

could do better as a grandmother. Whatever. It didnt look like hisyounger brother David was going to give her anyhe was too busy


10/13


11/13


Hey, Tom, what the heck are you still doing hanging around?Go home, bud, said Zach.

The cat repeated his meow and rubbed Zachs leg.

Zach wasnt really into cats. He was more of a dog man. At least

he had been back in high school, but when Dexter died Zach swore

off dogs.

Just as well. Pets required care, and with his job Zach couldnt

give an animal the kind of attention it needed. Still, he felt kind of

sorry for this mangy, orange tomcat. The poor guy looked pretty

skinny. Judging from his chewed-off ear hed taken a few knocks.

But he had a ea collar and a tag. He obviously belonged to

somebody. So, are you lost, dude, is that it?

Well, it was Decemberpeace on earth, goodwill toward men.

And cats. It wouldnt hurt to bring this one in and hang on to himuntil his owner could come pick him up. Zach could do that much.

He picked the little guy up and brought him inside. Then he

checked the tag on the cats collar. Ambrose, huh? Kind of a wussy

name, isnt it?

The cat yowled at him.

I dont blame you. I wouldnt want to be called Ambrose, ei-

ther. Well, dont worry. Ill get you back where you belong.

But when he called the number on the cats tag, the woman on

the other end of the line wasnt thrilled to hear from him. He was

my mothers cat. We were getting ready to take him to the animal

shelter when he ran away.

The animal shelter, huh? Zach looked over at the cat only to

see him dash under the leather couch.


12/13

10 Sheila Roberts

I just lost my mother and were a little stressed over here, thewoman added brusquely. I only have a few days left to take care of

things before I y back to Florida and I dont have time to worry

about that stupid cat. Hes on his own.

Whoa, somebody was going to get the Good Samaritan seal of

approval, but it wasnt this woman.

Thanks for calling, she added before hanging up.

Zach stared at his cell phone in disbelief. Geez, lady. How

could somebody be so callous about an animal?

The cat came back out and started rubbing against Zachs legs.

Zach picked him up and tried to explain to the little guy that this

wouldnt be much of a home for him. I know you got a tough

break, guy, and Id like to help you out, but Im a reghter. Im

gone at the station a lot and theres no woman here to look afteryou. At least there never was on a permanent basis.

Now the cat was purring.Aw, Geez.

Cats pretty much took care of themselves, right? At least that

was what Zach had always heard. Still, he had his hands full re-

modeling this place. The last thing he needed was an animal.

Okay, tell you what. Ill give you something to eat and then

youre on your own.

He put the cat down and went to the fridge. It trotted after him.

The animal shelter found homes for animals. He should take the

cat there right now and be done with it. Except this little dude was

no cute kitten. Who would want him? Hed end up in the kitty gas

chamber for sure.

Zach looked down at him and frowned. Why did you have toshow up on my doorstep?


13/13

BUY THE BOOK NOW

AmazonBarnes & Noble

IndieBound

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOK

macmillan.com

THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS
http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=3&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=1&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=4&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=4&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=3&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=3&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=2&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=2&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=1&isbn13=9780312594497http://stats.macmillanusa.com/bounce/default.aspx?id=1&isbn13=9780312594497

Date post:	07-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	macmillan-publishers
View:	218 times
Download:	0 times

The Nine Lives of Christmas

Documents